I LOVE to make Reading Resolutions.
I am not the type of person who needs or wants to make a huge list of New Year Resolutions - I just feel guilty if I don't stick to them and it's hard for me to keep track.
But I love making Reading Resolutions. I love taking a little bit of time to look at what books I have read this year and how I feel about it. I think it's a great professional thing to do to decide where I need to expand my horizons and make some reading goals for the year.
In 2015, coming off my Newbery year, I did not make any Reading Resolutions. I didn't know how I would feel or what I would even be capable of reading after such an intense reading year. I ended up reading quite a bit more than I thought I would, although it definitely still sometimes felt like work.
As 2016 nears, I have been thinking about what kind of reading goals I might want to set for myself this year. In the past I have resolved to read more nonfiction (a habit that definitely stuck with me, as I now love reading nonfiction!), to read more books that I picked up through browsing rather that recommendations or reviews, and it seems like almost every year I resolve to read more adult books.
Our monthly Reading Wildly program helps kick me out of my comfort zone every now and then, so that will definitely continue. Here are the genres we're tackling in 2016.
I have a little bit of a sinking feeling about setting Reading Resolutions for myself this year. Life and work have been so busy lately that I feel like I've been neglecting this blog. I'm guessing and hoping that I'm in one of those fallow field periods that Donalyn Miller so eloquently wrote about. Lately I like the idea of reading and writing, but when it comes down to it I don't always pick up a book or log in to Blogger even when I have the time.
So we'll see what happens, but here are the reading resolutions I'm setting for 2016:
1. I'd like to read more Teen books. Now that our department is Youth Services, I'm working more directly with teens than I ever have and I got out of the habit of reading YA stuff with Newbery and all the elementary school booktalks we've been doing. In 2015 I read 38 books that I would consider teen and that didn't feel like enough, so in 2016 I'd like to read at least 50 teen books.
2. I sometimes have trouble picking up adult books since those are almost always purely for pleasure or my own interests and don't directly help me in my work. But since I'm trying to think of reading as entertainment, I'd like to read at least 25 adult books this year.
And I think that's going to be it for me this year. We'll keep it pretty loose and try to concentrate on having fun reading.
What are your reading resolutions??